2017 FINAL FOUR: MUCH MORE THAN A BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

The 2017 NCAA Final Four has something for everyone – and you don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy it.
For college basketball fans, the national semifinals on April 1, 2017 and final on April 3 promise to be riveting spectacles at Glendale’s University of Phoenix Stadium. But the Final Four also offers an array of ancillary events in downtown Phoenix and Glendale, ranging from a three-day music festival to a fan festival and open team practices. Most events are free and all are open to the public.

“These diverse, exciting events will allow everyone to join in the celebration of the Valley’s first Final Four,” said Dawn Rogers, Executive Director and CEO of the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee, which is collaborating with the NCAA to host the 2017 Final Four. “You don’t have to have a ticket to the games to experience this iconic event, and you don’t have to be a basketball fan to join in the fun.”

Offering something for fans of all ages, Final Four Fan Fest presented by Capital One will be held at Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix from March 31-April 3, 2017. Tickets are $10 for adults and children 12 and under get in free.

Final Four Fan Fest presented by Capital One is a fun-filled event that is jam-packed with youth basketball clinics, giveaways, concerts, special appearances and sports-related autograph signings – and various sports are represented in interactive games from all NCAA championships. Fans can even have their photos snapped with the NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship trophy and pick up official Final Four merchandise and samples from NCAA sponsors.
March Madness Music Festival is three days of free concerts by popular national and local recording artists — will be staged at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix from March 31-April 2, 2017.

Artists will be announced in the weeks before the March Madness Music Festival. Previous headliners have included Bruce Springsteen, The Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Maroon 5, Fergie, Rihanna, Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Twenty One Pilots, The Killers, Pitbull, and Flo Rida.

Hours are Friday, 4 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.-10:30 p.m.; and Sunday 3 p.m.-10 p.m.
Final Four Friday is set for Friday, March 31 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Beginning at 11 a.m., each of the Final Four teams will have one-hour open practices at the stadium, with free admission to the public. Fans will also enjoy special basketball-themed programming.